San Antonio Skyscrapers (merged threads) (Portland, Tool: property tax, live, to move)

[Insomniac]

So you like to deal in hearsay instead of facts? That seems to be your MO on all these boards huh? And you subtly bash/belittle cities to make yourself feel better about Houston.

[Guerilla]

Originally Posted by Insomniac

So you like to deal in hearsay instead of facts? That seems to be your MO on all these boards huh? And you subtly bash/belittle cities to make yourself feel better about Houston.

I never said anything about Houston, so don't know what you are trying to say. And if you got the facts, then I would like to see them.

[Insomniac]

Originally Posted by Guerilla

First, name the cities that I "bash". You are just making outlandish claims that are not true.

Second, about Portland. The Texas Transportation Institute publishes their mobility study annually. The Urban Mobility report provides data on the performance of the transportation system in over 80 urban areas through research performed in cooperation with state transportation departments to include Oregon.



And:



Great model huh?

Look, I didn't even "bash" Portland. Just stating things that I have heard before about Portland.

You just posted the evidence that proves Portland is a model for urban and dense development. You think those transportation numbers aren't impressive? They are. Especially for a auto-dominant society that Portland has always been. Reducing their automobile dependency by 4 percent since building their light rail is quite a task.

[Guerilla]

Read again:

Roughly 73 percent of Portland-area residents drove alone by car or motorcycle - the same as in Los Angeles.

Before building light rail, Portland transit was gaining market share from the auto. Since building it, Portland transit has steadily lost market share and now carries only about 2 percent of Portland-area trips.

Ten years after Portland's first light-rail line was built, the city was so disappointed about lack of development along the route that it offered ten years of property tax waivers to anyone building near rail stations. One major development along the light rail, Beaverton Round, received $9 million in infrastructure subsidies and tax waivers. But no one wanted to move in, so the developer faced foreclosure. The city recently put up another $3.4 million to keep the project alive.

Portland also restricted itself to increasing landwise. This resulted in forced zoning.

Planners required Portland and 23 suburbs to meet population targets through re-zoning. To meet those targets, cities are re-zoning neighborhoods of single-family homes for apartments. In these areas, if a house burns down, the owner must replace it with an apartment building. Cities are also re-zoning golf courses, 10,000 acres of prime farm land, and other open spaces to high-density development. Low densities are forbidden in these zones.

In 1990, 92 percent of Portland-area trips were by car. Planners calculate that density, rail, and transit-oriented development will reduce this only to 88 percent. When combined with predicted population increases, the end result is actually 67 percent more miles of auto driving.

Residents say they want less, not more, congestion, but planners claim that "congestion signals positive urban development" and predict their plan will triple congestion. With congestion comes pollution: Planners admit their plan will increase smog by 10 percent.

[Insomniac]

Originally Posted by Guerilla

I never said anything about Houston, so don't know what you are trying to say. And if you got the facts, then I would like to see them.

What facts would those be? That Portland has street car transit and light rail? Or that Portland is a model for urban and dense development.

City Beat: Streetcar Named Development: The Portland model could bring billions to downtown Cincinnati: News: News (http://citybeat.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A133168 - broken link)

Conscious Choice: The Portland Model

[Guerilla]

Originally Posted by Insomniac

What facts would those be? That Portland has street car transit and light rail? Or that Portland is a model for urban and dense development.

City Beat: Streetcar Named Development: The Portland model could bring billions to downtown Cincinnati: News: News (http://citybeat.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A133168 - broken link)

Conscious Choice: The Portland Model

You act like I am just now knowing this. I always wanted the "Portland model" in terms of transit options for my city. Light rail, streetcar, and commuter rail (Portland doesn't have commuter rail though, but there are probably plans for it). The thing is, these transit options are not helping out Portland (at least not the way the city leaders expected it, from the articles I posted). Like I said earlier, Portland is giving away many tax breaks to developers, but those developments sit empty.

[Insomniac]

Originally Posted by Guerilla

Read again:

I just did... and then I googled the quotes and guess what... you're posting a 7 year old article by O'Toole. That same article was as much of a laughing stock of journalism back than as it is still today.

But thank you for posting a 7 year old hack article to discuss todays current events. Good going.

[Insomniac]

Originally Posted by Guerilla

You act like I am just now knowing this. I always wanted the "Portland model" in terms of transit options for my city. Light rail, streetcar, and commuter rail (Portland doesn't have commuter rail though, but there are probably plans for it).

You want the same "model" that you just laughed at? Hmm...

The thing is, these transit options are not helping out Portland (at least not the way the city leaders expected it, from the articles I posted).

The article you posted was from... 2000.

Like I said earlier, Portland is giving away many tax breaks to developers, but those developments sit empty.

Do you have anything that says this same thing that was written in the last... I don't know, 6 months?

[Insomniac]

Trae...

List of United States light rail systems by ridership - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Guerilla]

^^I already know that. 210/SayTownBoy, you obviously don't know how much I have defended Portland before. Just read this thread: Old MetroRail Plan - Houston Architecture Info Forum - HAIF®

Originally Posted by Insomniac

You want the same "model" that you just laughed at? Hmm...

When did I laugh at it?

The article you posted was from... 2000.

Didn't know that.

Do you have anything that says this same thing that was written in the last... I don't know, 6 months?

You sure didn't.

I guess I was wrong about Portland development though. Traffic seems to be increasing regardless, but developments don't sit vacant any more. The city probably also doesn't give out huge tax breaks to developers. anymore.